Intimate sushi restaurant rolls into The Heights with latest trend

Intimate sushi restaurant rolls into The Heights with latest trend

The nationwide sushi hand roll trend is coming to The Heights. Hando (or, in press release parlance, the all caps HANDO) will open at 518 W. 11th St. this fall.

Led by Jason Andaya, Hando will serve sushi hand rolls (temaki) in an intimate, 1200-square-foot space that will seat just 24 diners. Pitched as a new kind of Heights neighborhood restaurant, Hando will be open for lunch and dinner daily.

“Imagine being in one of Japan’s large fish markets and finding a bar in the middle of it where you could sit and enjoy some of the freshest seafood in its simplest form," Andaya said in a statement. "That’s what eating at Hando will be like.”

Unlike sushi maki rolls that are cut into individual pieces, temaki are typically cone-shaped rolls enveloped in one large piece of seaweed. At Hando, they'll be round (rather than cone-shaped) and served both a la carte and in three-, four-, and five-piece combinations. Cocktails, including some made with Japanese spirits, will round out the experience.

While the look may be high style, the prices will be reasonable. A rep confirms dining at Hando should slot somewhere between poke and sushi, with prices in the $15-$20 range at lunch and $25-$35 at dinner (including drinks, tax, and tip).

Opening Hando is a sort of homecoming for Andaya. The native Houstonian and UH grad has spent the last eight years working for Marriott International and a restaurant group in Los Angeles. For this project, he's partnered with Bar Munich owner Ray Chan and Rishi Patel — who is not to be confused with chef Rikesh Patel (Ambrosia, Night Market Thai, etc.).